I have been asked on more than one occasion about how I teach the Word of Wisdom to youth in the Church who have had lessons about the Word of Wisdom for years - about how to make it new, fresh or enlightening in any way.
I teach it in that situation by focusing on two things:
1) The first few verses
about "why" - that it was given in warning of addiction peddling in the
future. I mention lots of other things that now are addictive and
ought to receive the same scrutiny - and let them come up with a list,
since that makes it personal for them and allows me to distinguish for them the difference between addictions and occasional actions.
2)
The "what" - and I do that by talking about how dietary and health codes have
changed over time, from the ancient Hebrew / Jewish code to what Jesus
followed (differently than John, the Baptist, for example) to what we
had with D&C 89 when it was counsel to what we have now (when
addiction peddlers are running rampant) as a standard for temple attendance.
How would you respond to such a question?
It is Given unto Thee
1 week ago
4 comments:
You're wise to focus on those two questions. I think it helps to deepen thoughts.
These are great ideas and would not only make the WoW more relevant, but also far more intelligible when viewed in the context of changing codes over time.
I think it's fun to show how the main suggestions line up fairly nicely with our modern food pyramid (each item can be found if looked for):
1. grains: staff of life
2. fruits and veggies good
3. meat sparingly
It's amazing to me that so few LDS (including BYU) eat meat sparingly, but I don't use tobacco to heal bruises either, so there's that...
Focus on the spiritual blessings, not just the physical ones.
President Benson and President Packer gave some fantastic conference talks about the spiritual blessings that come from following the WOW.
I've been advised by pharmacists to use tincture of arnica for bruises-tobacco to you and me. Very helpful as an external compress.
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